I Will Do It

January 17, 2008

Memorial of Saint Anthony, abbot

When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” 1 Samuel 4:3

A leper came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” Mark 1:40-41

Piety

Enfold Me in Your Heart

Lord, enfold me in your heart;

and there hold me, refine, purge and set me on fire.

Raise me aloft, until my own self knows utter annihilation.

-- Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011708.shtml

How different the Lord reacts in the two readings today. In the first reading from Samuel, Jesus does not answer the prayers to help defeat the Philistines. However, he does respond to the faith that the leper exhibits and grants his wish to be made clean. Why? Doesn’t he say, “Ask and you will receive?”

We may never know the answer. We may never know God’s will in this case until we meet him face-to-face. We may never know why this story was so important that Mark placed it in his first chapter. But the answer might lie in the phrase uttered by the man with leprosy: Lord, if you wish, you can answer my prayers. Jesus decides he does wish the man to be clean. He will do it.

We can discern, from our piety, study and action, the end result that the Lord wants us to pursue in life. He wants our belief and our action for his purposes, not for ours. Sometimes, we might think the Lord is working, when in reality, the Evil One is exerting a presence in our lives.

Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Anthony, the desert father who left the world in order to refine what he felt about Christian community. By denying his own wants and desires, he also denied the temptations that the world put before him. St. Anthony offered up his austere life in the desert in order to pursue what God wanted from him. His example helped to teach others how to live together. From St. Anthony’s example, people were attracted to Christian communities which were the precursor for monastic life.

After the miracle in today’s Gospel, Jesus had to get out of the city also. As word spread about his healing ministry, Jesus attracted such crowds that he stayed outside the cities in deserted places, too.

Just as Jesus called his disciples and gave them instructions, He also calls each of us. Jesus decides what he will do for us. Jesus decides what He wants us to do for him. But for everyone Jesus encounters in this first chapter of Mark, everyone has a mission to spread the Good News in thoughts, words and deeds.

Action

To celebrate this memorial, deny yourself something today that you usually want.

Give up watching Wolf Blitzer or Lou Dobbs when you get home from work.

Turn off the computer.

Skip a meal.

Pass by that store without shopping.